A Song on the Six Perfections* by Milarepa
For generosity, nothing to do, Other than stop fixating on self.
For morality, nothing to do, Other than stop being dishonest.
For patience, nothing to do, Other than not fear what is ultimately true.
For...
Please come out and support this wonderful and thought provoking film. It will only be screening through this coming Thursday [My 9th] at Cinema Village on 12th Street.
More than 370 people have died and 1,200 were injured when a building that housed garment factories collapsed recently in Bangladesh.
**ETA: The death toll is now over 900.
Time reports:
Following last week's article on the dearth of female teachers in Tibetan Buddhism, it's wonderful to read today's story in the Telegraph, in which the Dalai Lama reiterates his publicly stated support for women leaders and the possibility of a...
The Guardian newspaper reports that a hospital in England has installed a quiet room designed by ambient music pioneer Brian Eno. It's being offered as a place to help patients relax, and doctors plan to monitor people who use the room to see...
Peter Levine is a psychotherapist whose work has greatly influenced the field of trauma therapy, particularly trauma that is stored in the body. He offers this advice for minimizing the future onset of traumatic symptoms:
Shortly after starting work as a bike messenger, I learned an acronym from my coworkers: ACAB, or All Cops Are Bastards. I couldn’t suppress a giggle; I’d been living in New York City for only a year...
Today in the Huffington Post, author Michaela Haas has a wonderful article asking why there isn't a female Dalai Lama and what is being done to address the sexism underlying the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Like many women studying in this...
Through April 13, Jeremy Redleaf is inviting New Yorkers into a conversation. About anything. From choosing an item on the conversation wheel (such a top 3 desert island foods) to relationships to the myth of isolation in society. The Talk Shop...
As various thinkers attempt to position Buddhism in relation to "Western Psychology," I thought IDP folks might benefit from understanding some of the movements that are lumped into the latter.
I've been writing Journals about Women in Buddhist History during March, which is Women's History Month. Women's stories are largely absent from traditional Buddhist study -- the men who wrote down the stories didn't collect women's stories, for the...
"When I think about women and Buddhism, the first thing that always comes to mind is the story of Tara’s vow. This story expresses our situation so clearly and applies equally well to both ancient and modern times. It is a story that originated when...
While iconic archetypes of feminine enlightenment (dakinis in the ancient language of Sanskrit) were erected on shrines, few women in Asia were actually emboldened to follow in their footsteps. That women participate equally is probably the single...
I have had many people come in talking about ego lately. It got me thinking. All problems arise from the sense of limited fearful separation -- what we call 'ego.' I started contemplating this daily on my morning walks. I examined my fearful...
Acharya Eric Spiegel, one of IDP's lineage mentors will be offering the refuge and bodhisattva vows at the New York Shambala Center, March 29th through 31st as a weekend retreat.
The website for Druk Galwa Khilwa Abbey gives histories of about a dozen great yoginis of tantric Buddhism. The sad thing about the stories is that all of them are objects for male action. They're kidnapped, beaten, pursued by men -- fathers,...
In the Buddhist tradition I've studied in since 2006, there's a lineage chant listing the line of enlightened beings who handed down teachings. I've said that list -- which includes the name Yeshe Tsogyel -- hundreds of times, but I didn't know much...
I really try to adhere to my decision to think of things in term of "cause" and "effect" rather good/bad or even negative/positive. Things happen --- people change, things change, the world is constantly changing. one can get pretty...
Becoming mindful of the body can turn our sense of being into a refuge.
Similar to that steaming cup of coffee(or tea) in the morning,nourishing our insides to begin a sense of motion.
March is Women's History Month. Friday, March 8, is International Women's Day. How many women in Buddhist history can you name -- not contemporary practitioners, but historical figures?
Last weekend I started my year long immersion training with The Interdependence Project in New York City. Entering those doors and climbing the 200 stairs to the loving space of my Sangha I was nervous with the teeming possiblities. What would this...
I’ve always pegged “Next” as a demon. Next pushes one to bitterly reboot or insatiably chase. Next is an instant reaction that propels one into tomorrow with (what seems like) little maturity. Devilish. Pathetic. I’ve desperately tried...
I AM JUST NOW emerging out of a long period of retreat where I spent much of my time in solitude — reading, reflecting, experimenting with various forms of prayer, and just sitting. The last three months of this period I spent in a simple guest...
It is important to have a healthy self image and healthy self regard."Of course," you may say, but are you so grounded and alive in healthy self regard that it is easy to handle emotional states and moods? Because that's what it takes!We often get...
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